In case you lived under a rock in the early 2000s, Uncle Kracker is perhaps best known for his breakout song “Follow Me,” along with his cover of Dobie Gray’s “Drift Away” (and multiple musical collaborations with such artists as Kenny Chesney and best bud Kid Rock.)
The 41-year-old singer-songwriter’s house is, well, pretty much what you’d expect from the Kid Rock protégé. “It’s very custom, especially for the area. It’s unlike everything else around here,” says listing agent Francesca Krause. Purple and blue neon lights illuminate the circular chandelier and Roman pillars in the foyer. Then there’s the wide array of crystal chandeliers. The zebra-striped chairs. Purple and black walls. Black built-in cabinetry and furniture. LCD neon lights tracing the crown molding. Click here to read more We all know that you can get more for your money in a small town than in a big city, right? But die-hard urbanites sometimes assume that the 180-degree lifestyle change that goes with downsizing their metropolis would leave them bereft (of culture), bored, and maybe even a bit broken.
Or would it? This week, our data team set out to discover the most affordable small towns in America that could actually tempt away hard-core city lovers. Of course, the cheapest places aren’t necessarily where you’d want to live. So we went beyond housing price to identify places where crime is low, unemployment is at rock bottom, job opportunities abound, and buying a home is a relatively light financial burden. And maybe even those where there are fun and interesting things to occupy your time. We assessed more than 500 U.S. Census–designated micropolitan areas (with a population between 10,000 and 50,000) for these criteria* and ranked the top 10 by median list price. Note that “micropolitan areas,” as the federal government defines them, may include neighboring towns as well. Minnesota and Iowa, with three towns apiece in our ranking, look like good prime starting points for the soon-to-be-former-urban bargain hunter. And we’d bet that within a few months of moving in, your neighbors will all know your name. Click here to read more It’s no secret: Housing costs are expensive. Rising rents and a strong real estate market are making it harder for first-time buyers to get a piece of the American dream.
Buying a home means getting these four areas of your finances in shape:
If you do not know where you stand and if you want to make an offer on a home, getting pre-approved is an important first step. Getting your financial house in order should be priority No. 1 if you intend on buying a home now or down the line. A pre-approval involves having a lender ensure that your credit score is sufficient, you have the cash to close on the home, your income supports the debt load plus your other liabilities, and you have the financial character and capacity to make a big-ticket purchase. Whilecredit score, income, and debt allowance are all important puzzle pieces, your cash to close reigns. The hard realityThere are no more first-time buyer programs available. All the first-time buyer programs that did exist have long since expired. Click here to read more Long after the heyday of Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls superstars are still treated like royalty in the Windy City. Latest proof: Bulls’ elite guard Jimmy Butler, who just purchased this stylish townhouse in city’s hot River North area for $4.3 million.
Butler has become an impact player with the Bulls ever since being drafted from Marquette University in 2011. Last year, he was selected for the NBA All-Star team and named the league’s most improved player. Butler comes a long way from his teenage years, some of which he spent homeless in his native Texas. He signed a five-year, $95 million contract with the Bulls in July, according to Crain’s Chicago Business, which also broke the story of his townhouse deal. Butler’s new place, built in 2008, has 10,000 square feet of living space over four floors, three outdoor terraces, an elevator, and a 750-bottle wine cellar. The home was listed for $4.6 million on Sept. 8, and the sale closed Sept. 15. The seller, reports Crain’s, was Greg Mutz, CEO of apartment development company AMLI Residential. Mutz had paid roughly $3.4 million for the home when it was built in 2008, Crain’s says. Randy McGhee was the listing agent for the property. Click here to read more When you’re dating, you can spend years searching for the perfect relationship only to—possibly—wait too long and miss out on something great. Suddenly, over your sad microwave meal and bottle of cheap red, you’re looking back on your life choices, wondering what could have been if you hadn’t been so darned picky.
Well, the same goes for house hunting. You can drive yourself crazy searching for your dream home. You’ve found houses that have come close, after all. So the perfect one is bound to appear soon, right? Not necessarily. We know the hunt can be emotionally draining, but at some point you have to go from house hunter to home owner. We’re not encouraging you to make a choice that will fill you with buyer’s remorse. But to borrow a line from the Rolling Stones: You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes … you get what you need. Cllick here to read more Start spreading the news: There’s a mansion for sale. Situated on over 200 feet of Atlantic Ocean frontage, this three-story modern home is up for grabs for $5.2 million in Brigantine, NJ. The house was once used as a weeklong retreat for Frank Sinatra—and it has his wig to prove it.
Over 15 years ago, when a local casino rep approached the homeowner, Atlantic Cityrestaurateur Tony Pullella, about renting the 5,900-square-foot mansion, he was hesitant—he had just moved in with his family. But once Pullella heard that it was Ol’ Blue Eyes in need of luxury accommodations, the deal was sealed, says Realtor®Hanya Dwyer, who is co-listing the five-bedroom home with Gary Paul.Sinatra stayed at the home for a week during in summer 1991, using it as a home base for his performance at the Sands Casino. He was between dates for the Diamond Jubilee World Tour, a yearlong tour in honor of his 75th birthday. For his stay at the property, “he requested Hershey’s Kisses and a case of Jack Daniels,” says Dwyer. Click here to read more Commuter railroad lines radiate from Chicago’s lakefront like spokes on a wheel, so it’s not unusual for local residents to ride a train to work every day. What is less common? Being able to ride a train once you get home from work! Railroad-obsessed residents of this $3.5 million home in suburban River Forest can do just that.
River Forest, about a 20-minute drive from Chicago’s Loop, is known for its stately mansions. Many of them, like this one, were built during the Roaring ’20s. This 7,747-square-foot Swiss chalet–style home features six bedrooms—and a Disney-esque train that runs around the property’s nearly 1 acre lot. Why the train? The homeowner, who has had the property since 1974, is a die-hard railroad enthusiast, explains listing agent Michael LaFido. He had previously built a model railroad in his basement before venturing to Texas to buy a fully ridable train, explains LaFido. Click here to read more In most cases, eviction is a swift, ruthless sword. If your landlord wants you out—and has good reason—you’re out. Often, you have only a few weeks (or even a few days) to collect your stuff and get the hell out of Dodge before the sheriff arrives—but that isn’t always the case.
In some cases, it can take months or even years for a landlord to kick you out. So if you’re at risk for eviction but prefer to stay put, take stock of the situation to see if you might have a legitimate reason for delay, or if your eviction might drag on for reasons unrelated to you. Here are some of the most common examples. 1. The landlord botched the paperworkAccording to Jonathan G. Stein, a California attorney who represents tenants, the longest eviction he witnessed took 14 months. That’s an extreme case, but not all that unusual if your landlord filed the official papers without legal help and bungled the job. “Some [evictions] take longer because the landlord tries to save money and do it themself and simply screws up the paperwork,” Stein says. In fact, it’s a tricky process. Many state landlord and tenant laws require landlords to handle evictions in a very specific way. Typically they must notify the tenant in writing, file proper paperwork in a local court, and wait out the legally required notice period. If the landlord mishandles any step, the judge may delay the case or even throw it out. Click here to read more Have you ever saved the biggest steak for yourself when grilling? Or snagged the best toy for your kid at a secret Santa party? Or snuck onto the best (and last available) seat on the subway? Of course you have! Perhaps you were slightly embarrassed by what naysayers might term “self-obsessed narcissism.” But that might not be the case for some famous New York City brokers, who brag in the press and social media about their latest personal real estate scores. As the New York Post reported on Monday, some of the city’s top real estate deal-makers keep the best apartments for themselves.
Shocker! “To see a brand-new, full-floor, 2,000-square-foot unit with two big terraces and amazing southern views with a 50-foot living room—under $4 million—is very rare,” said “Million Dollar Listing” star Ryan Serhant (inset), who lives in a downtown Manhattan penthouse. Serhant, who works for Nest Seekers International, and other fellow top brokers know just what to look for, obviously, and usually have first dibs. Click here to read more Nestled deep in the Berkeley Hills, in Berkeley, CA, a house from the future hides among the trees.
The only sign of the home from the street is the imposing black gate. Cross a steel bridge over a creek, and there among the live oaks you’ll find “a poem in white and gray,” as the SFGate once described it. Dubbed the Ruth House (after its original owners), the Donald Olsen–designed modernist masterpiece is on the market for $2,235,000. Although the sleek glass-and-stucco structure has been in the neighborhood for almost 50 years, many locals don’t even know it exists, according to listing agent Jack McPhail. ”Olsen himself considered this to be his best house. It’s just incredibly beautiful. It’s so private.” Click here to read more |
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February 2017
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